Govt to identify mineral blocks in sea, put them on sale

New Delhi:

Mines Secretary Vivek Bhardwaj said on Friday that the government is in the process of identifying mineral blocks like nickel in the ocean and will gradually put them up for sale.

The Ministry of Mines is amending the Offshore Area Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002 and has sought the views of stakeholders.

“Because important minerals are becoming even more important, the idea is that why are we not mining in the oceans… Unfortunately we have not been able to do mining in the oceans. Now we are amending the Act. The domain is open for comments from the industry, stakeholders,” the Mines Secretary said during the Metal & Metallurgy Expo-2023 organized by CII.

He said the ministry is in the process of identifying these blocks in the sea and since there is no stake, the auction will be done by the Indian government.

“It will also be a huge opportunity for the industry, a completely new area of ​​operation,” he explained.

Important minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are essential components of today’s rapidly growing clean energy technologies – from wind turbines and power networks to electric vehicles.

The Mines Secretary further said that recycling of metals including aluminum is very important to make India self-reliant.

The recycling level in India for aluminum is around 30 per cent while globally it is more than 90 per cent. The figures are similar for copper and other metals as well.

Bhardwaj also urged the industry to enter the organized recycling sector.

“Companies that are already in the metals industry, I would ask them to think about creating a division for recycling. This is a major area of ​​operation all over the world and I think the Indian industry can easily become the recycling hub of the entire Can be made.” world,” he explained.

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